qualified wedding photographer Bognor -

We’re still in the first quarter of the year so I am very pleased to have ticked off another item on my “Things I hope to Achieve” list for this year. I have been awarded my Licentiateship with the Master Photographers Association. As well as now being an accredited photographer with 2 professional associations, I also get more fancy letters after my name and more mentoring and support I hope in the coming years to help me shape and grow in who I am as a photographer.

An added bonus of attending my qualification assessment is that it was taking place at The Photography Show at the NEC Birmingham. As a trade member with the Master Photographers Association I was able to get free tickets for my husband and I. We had a lovely stay in a hotel in Stratford upon Avon the night before which was a real treat for us… a small spa, a fancy restaurant and a sleep without little ones climbing in our bed in the wee hours!

Thankfully Tom loves tech and gear in all forms so he wasn’t too bored being dragged around the exhibitions with me, being silly on some of the stands and even enjoying some of the seminars that were available (and keeping me from overspending in geek heaven!). The tips, tricks and ideas I have walked away with are buzzing around my head and I can’t wait to implement them in my upcoming weddings.

For my MPA qualification, much like the assessment with the British Institute of Professional Photography earlier this month, a working profile is required which is a book describing you, your business, your policies and procedures, workflow and finally a description of all the images included in the panel. This was the hardest part again, but once I decided to throw their suggested format out of the window and design my own pages that complemented my branding the whole process flowed much easier…. that rebel inside just won’t be quieted!

The way the Master Photographers Association like to have the images presented are in two lines of 10. The top 10 from 1 wedding and the lower from a varied selection so the completed panel would look like this:

With a massive thank you again to all my lovely Brides and Grooms that make these images possible, here’s the panel that I submitted for my successful Licentiate qualification with the Master Photographers Association:

Fiona xx

You may have read in one of my previous blogs that one of my aims for this year was to submit my work to be assessed for a Licentiateship with the British Institute of Professional Photography in the category of Weddings. Since joining the Institute this time last year I have been closely mentored by Chris Harper FBIPP (and also CEO of the BIPP). Attending courses and taking constructive feedback on the chin has really helped challenge me to improve how I compose, shoot and edit an image. I can really see the difference in a year!

This February Chris suggested I apply for my Licentiate, with assessments taking place in March. Basically, the British Institute of Professional Photography has taken over my life for a very intense month or so. With help from Chris to put together my portfolio of images, I was very kindly given a small extension with which to write my supporting evidence. A book that documents how I began, where I am at now and how I hope to grow in the future. It also shows my working process, how I interpret client briefs and customer feedback. This workbook was the hardest part!

So……. Today I was assessed, and YAY!! I was awarded a Licentiateship in the British Institute of Professional Photography. I can use the letters LBIPP after my name and here’s a new fancy-pants logo I can incorporate into my marketing:

This is what the BIPP have to say about qualifications, “Recognised across the world as a benchmark of excellence, our tiered qualification structure offers photographers continual professional development. There are three qualifications, each reflecting increasing levels of experience, skill and achievement; Licentiateship, Associateship and Fellowship”

The assessors had some very kind words to say about my images but also offered some golden nuggets of how I could improve and what I could develop to take my art to the next level.

I am really looking forward to this next year or so, developing my craft and working towards the next qualification with the support and guidance of my mentor. The additional development tool I can now consider is whether I choose to complete a degree. The work submitted for my LBIPP can be assessed and awarded up to 240 points towards a BA(Hons) Photography with the Open College of the Arts (basically it could count as 2 years of a 3 year degree). I need to weigh up if I have: a) the time to do this; and b) the money, as the cost would be equivalent to a new camera and lens I’ve got my eye on!

Anyhow, I’ll think about that and leave you the images to peruse from my Licentiate Portfolio for the British Institute of Professional Photography while I pour myself a glass of vino and scoff some well deserved cake!

Fiona xx